Bound by Fate
by Rachel the Fiend Hunter
Summary: *Rachel x Ryu* The fiend hunter was caught up in a surprise attack in an office building, she dispatched a few with ease- before 'backup' arrived, someone she would appreciate more then almost any other. (A mix of the lore between Dead or Alive/Ninja Gaiden, hence the 'crossover' bit. And mention of Hayate/Ayane/Kasumi/Rachel's name wasn't listed, so I couldn't add her.) One-shot.


I had thought that once my blood was pure- that there was no escaping my inevitable fate; that I- too, would become a monstrous puppet devoid of a soul. Walking around and trying to torment humans in the hopes that I may regain my forfeit humanity. "Fiends require no pity, the only salvation they have at hand- is a swift death!" Rachel told the scared human onlooker, she cursed the fact that she didn't have the advantage of wearing her fiend hunting outfit. For now, she was adorned in a business suit it still held a slight amount of practicality, due to the fact that her skirt had a slit and allowed for varying ways of movement. Her high heels were capable of inflicting damage not unlike her boots, but she didn't have her mighty weapons, save for the grappling gun. And now she was being hindered by a scared man of whom she swore was afraid of his own shadow. To regular humans, it was a given that fiends were utterly 'terrifying' that _demons _actually did in fact exist. There was no denying that, but why scream and cry out in fear when it would only attract more to kill you? Her eyes glanced at the man, she had no choice but to use her sorcery. Magic of the Raging Aphrodite made short work of the hoard, "Now go!" she barked at the man, if he didn't leave- then Rachel would gladly toss him from the 2nd floor of the building. Reluctant at first- because he couldn't stand, and the very fact that he had witnessed many impossibilities within one day, he didn't stand until Rachel lost her patience and walked over to him. It was at this point that he stood and ran calling out 'monster' whether he was referring to her or the fiends, it honestly didn't matter.

Rachel barely had time to glance over, before a fiend from behind her was defeated. The weapon that had caused its death was a kunai commonly used by ninja. One question lingered within the air as she plucked it from the fiends corpse that gradually faded away, which one had come to be her 'savior'? Kasumi? Momiji? Hayate? Ayane? _Ryu_. When she thought of the last name, she saw him. "You are getting careless." though his tone of voice was serious, he seemed to be teasing the fiend hunter ever so slightly, eying his kunai within her hand. Rachel paused for a moment, staring at her old friend, a smile before it faded to a dull line of annoyance, she tossed the weapon and the cry of a fiend was heard from behind Ryu. He glanced behind him, and back to Rachel.

"Am I the only one who has gotten careless, Ryu?" Rachel chided, walking closer to him. "You're getting cocky." she added with a humored smile, "To what do I owe the honor and privilege of your assistance?" a fiend was charging at her from behind, Rachel hit it in the head with a kick to the face, another to its torso, a backhand and another punch to stun the creature, before she launched it into the wall and stomped down hard on its head. "Pathetic!" she scoffed, fiends never had a smart way of attacking. Well, the lesser fiends didn't anyway.

"I was well aware of the creature from behind me, Rachel. I was also fairly certain that you would defeat it before it caused me any bodily harm." Ryu added, he knew fully well that she was a very capable partner and she wouldn't dare to let a comrade get hurt/killed when she could do something about it. "Fiends are nothing but monstrosities and evils that need to be stripped away from this world. 'Gods' and 'Demons' have no place among the world of men." Ryu declared, killing another few fiends in rapid succession.

"Shall we shall the chatter for later?" Rachel asked, as she and Ryu were back to back against an even larger group of fiends. It appeared no matter how many were slain- a few more would most certainly take their places. Ryu grunted and nodded from beside her, "Ryu, you're like having the strength of 100 others." she praised, before the two set out to work. Blades of the Ouroboros cut through the bestial fiends like butter, Magic of the Raging Aphrodite was very useful in 'crowd control' she just had to make sure Ryu wasn't within range when she cast it. If he were- he'd have to deal with the unpleasant feeling of demonic roses attempted to usurp every last drop of blood within his body to satiate their supernatural 'thirst'. The vines and thorns ensnared her intended victims and began to bleed them dry as the roses themselves bloomed in their full glory, echoing the crimson that they fed upon.

Ryu carefully side-stepped her sorcery's, nothing his jutsu couldn't come in handy with. Especially when you had the hybrid combination of fire and lightning attempting to cleave you in half, or demonic flowers that hungered for your very life essence to satiate themselves. They were impressive sorcery's, not to mention the way that Rachel strategically cast either or in a given situation. A large fiend attempted to grab him, he tossed a kunai into its thigh and while it cringed to feebly grab at the object he tossed a few more into the torso and arms, coming at it with flying kicks and defeating the monster. The cries of fiends sounded off as Rachel and Ryu destroyed every last one in their quest to cast away the evil entities. Neither one appeared to be losing step in the many cascading battles, though as it ended the physical exertion began to kick in. "I could get used to this kind of a fight." Rachel said with a flick of her wrist, Ryu grunted in response.

"I thought you became tired of having to defeat the same hoards of fiends on a continuous loop." Ryu stated, though it was also a question.

"I do." Rachel nodded, "But when I have a worthy partner such as yourself by my side, how could I possibly grow 'weary'?" she asked, "And let these lowly insects think that they could defeat us? You- who averted the apocalypse single-handedly and brought down many Arch-Fiends?" she scoffed then and there, "I would never give them the satisfaction."

"I was not alone in my quest." Ryu immediately brushed the idea aside, "Had it not been for my faithful apprentice, or yourself I would have failed in my quest." it seemed that the woman thought of him as some 'higher being' when it came to his skill. While he did ascend the ninja ranks fairly quickly, he was but a man. A man who had at one point in time died, only to be resurrected for his mission. To bring down a creed of fiends just as his father had before him. The burden of the dragon ninja was always heavy- but he need not despair; for there was always some form of light to drown out the dark.

"Momiji." Rachel paused for a moment, "Yes, I did take you out of the depths of hell..but you did all the work. Even saving me a few times over." a debt that she would most certainly repay to Ryu, she swore it on her life. For all that he had done, especially when her quest to find, defeat and kill Alma had come to its climax. She had learned a great deal of things she wouldn't have, had it not been for Ryu Hayabusa. "How is Momiji these days- or are you too busy being an antiques dealer?" there was a slight teasing smirk spread across the fiend hunters face as the pair exited the office building, many police were en route and they didn't think of sticking around. A few fallen humans, not to mention the varying damages of the building, it wasn't something one could just explain away. 'I killed hoards of demons with magic, and strength I acquired: (through many years of my ninja training/because of the fiend blood curse that I had been infected with) didn't exactly make the two of them seem sane at all. At best, they would be locked away in a mental ward. At worst- they would be serving life sentences in prison.

"There is always time to see my apprentice." Ryu said, "Momiji is doing very well in her teachings. I have no doubt that she would be able to surpass me."

"Even you?" Rachel asked, "That is a feat that I would love to see." she knew fully well that his apprentice was very combat capable, but for Ryu himself to praise her so well- Momiji must have been really improving.

"How is it you knew I was into the 'antiques' business now?" Ryu asked curiously.

"A little cute blonde birdy told me. Or maybe it was a cute little jet black haired birdy. Maybe both?" Rachel conceded with a smile, "Did you replace me with Ms. Irene?" she asked, "Or perhaps Momiji?"

"We have a business relationship." Ryu brushed off Rachel's assumptions, "Momiji is my apprentice and the sister of my deceased childhood friend, Kureha."

"My mistake." Rachel said, though she could hear the sadness in his voice at the mention of 'Kureha' so she thought to liven things up with a small joke. "Considering the fact that the two of you already share the same last name, it would be fair game- no need for marriage and all. I have no doubt the offspring of a Dragon Shrine Maiden and _the _current Dragon Ninja would be a worthy opponent, no?" the credentials alone seemed to be impressive.

"The name of 'Hayabusa' is one earned through many hours of training, practice, skill and disciplines. I have no doubt that Momiji would be able to earn this title as well. If she were to bear the child of a ninja- I would believe her to choose Hayate." Ryu said, it wasn't hard to think of his friend with his apprentice. The two of them got along fairly well, perhaps because at some points Hayate thought of her as being the 'female Ryu' as Ayane had snarkily called the girl once or twice. Both 'Masters' had reprimanded her on that one, but she didn't dare to speak back or gesture in a haughty way like she usually would have. She had far too much respect for either man.

"Hayate? And why would you think that?" Rachel asked, curiously. No woman _in _his life, but he was surrounded by women all over the place? As far as she knew- Ryu wasn't playing for the same team as her. Perhaps he hadn't met the right girl yet- but at that thought, what was she? One of the _wrong _ones? It left almost a bitter taste in her mouth, the thought of her being passed up on something such as this. Although, it wasn't as if she hadn't thought about the possibility of her and Ryu having something a 'little more' then friendship. To see what lye beneath the mask, have those green eyes stare at her beyond simple thoughts of friendship alone.

"Momiji and Hayate have an interesting relationship." the two of them just..'worked' so to speak. They both were in clans of friendly villages, both aspired to be great warriors- and they were, capable of many great feats. Plus, Momiji had been to the Mugen Tenshin clan fairly often- some of which she had been a little reluctant to relay to her master.

"I see." Rachel laughed at the ninja, "You look and sound as if your last 'chick' has flown the nest." she explained upon seeing his questioning expression. "Your child needs to spread her wings and learn the ways of the world. Try not to be too crestfallen about it, Ryu. It happens." she clapped him on the shoulder, as the pair walked into her apartment.

"I knew that Momiji would one day have to leave my side, that she would go on to do great things- but I did not think of how much I would miss her company." Ryu said, "But you are right- some lessons in life must be lived to be learned, and she couldn't do that if she were to be stuck in my shadow for her life." he walked to her living room and attempted to find a suitable area to sit.

"Sit anywhere, I'll be back in a moment." Rachel said, walking off to her bedroom and quickly getting changed. Her outfit was a little worse for wear, but she would fix that later on. For now, she changed into her 'casual' outfit, so to speak. It had a hidden elegance about it- and from time to time she wore it to the office or a cocktail party or two. It added a bit of a 'confidence boost' seeing how men all still flocked to her side. She didn't bother to let her hair down, and kept it up, walking into the living room only to see Ryu sitting on the floor. "Was that most comfortable for you?" she asked.

"If it makes you uncomfortable, I could sit elsewhere." Ryu said, about to stand up.

"No- sit where you like." ninja certainly had a few quirks, but it was one of the things about Ryu that she enjoyed. Rachel sat opposite him on the floor, she found it rude to sit anywhere else, especially somewhere that she couldn't be at eye level with him. "What made you seek me out- of all people? Or was it 'mere coincidence' that we met again?"

"Perhaps it was both. Or perhaps it was 'fate'." Ryu was slightly hesitant when it came to revealing his reasoning.

"Oh? Do tell." Rachel said smoothly, "Did you miss my company that much?" when Ryu hadn't responded, she took it as a 'yes'. "Well, if it helps any- I missed you as well."

"Bonded are we- those who fight against the fiends and forces of evil..." Ryu mused aloud, "I did miss your accompaniment." he agreed with a nod.

"So, is this a proposition for me?" Rachel asked, curiously.

"Yes." Ryu nodded again, "Accept- only if it is not a burden to you, of course."

"You know me- I couldn't refuse you." Rachel shrugged, "I'm all ears." she blinked, when she saw him come closer, was it something so important that he had to whisper? Was her apartment bugged, or something along those lines? His mask was slid down, and she could see his youthful face, he seemed younger than she had assumed, not that it really was a problem. Staring at him, as he kissed her- part way in confusion, before her eyes shut and she relaxed into the gesture. "I see..."

Ryu stared at her in wonderment, wondering what else she could possibly say to him.

"Did I render you speechless? Because I believe that was supposed to be me." Rachel tutted, "You didn't come here because you wanted my help with the next big bad, did you?" she asked, glancing away and staring at him through the corner of her eye.

"No. No I did not." Ryu shook his head.

"Is this some sort of fling- or are you asking me for a relationship of some sort?" Rachel asked again, she just wanted to be absolutely clear on the matter before they proceeded any further. She didn't truly think Ryu would do something like she had asked, the first portion- anyway, but she was inclined to ask anyway.

"The last part." Ryu said.

"Well then, I accept." Rachel stood up, feeling his eyes follow her. "Are you going to come with me, or make me go it alone?" she asked, with a small laugh as she stepped through the threshold into her bedroom. She heard the footsteps follow her inside, sitting on the bed she waited patiently for Ryu. The man came in and stared at her, this time- she could see the difference in his eyes. The usual 'fire' within them was replaced with something else, something she could only guess upon. Perhaps, 'happiness'? Maybe that only stroked her ego, thinking of such a thing. Many who looked upon Rachel had thought of this moment- had assumed that they were worthy to lay on a bed with her, to go through the physical actions that could come with it. But she had only met one man who she found 'worthy' of such a thing and he was sitting beside her; Ryu Hayabusa.


End file.
